Page 32 of Here In Your Arms

“I hope so. You’re good people; you deserve more good days than bad days.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

She fidgets for a minute before taking a deep breath and looking at me. “I know this is forward of me, but can I give you my number? You can always text me if you need something, or if you just want to chat. I mean, we could swap but I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

“I don’t have any friends,” I blurt out, then I’m mortified.

Who says that? She doesn’t need to know that nobody likes me. She’s got friends. Why in the world would she want to be my friend? As mortifying as it is, maybe it’s good that I told her, then she can just walk away. She’s going to anyway, right? This was a nice conversation, but it’s only been an hour.

“Gotta start somewhere,” she says, smiling widely.

“Okay,” I tell her. “Give me your phone?”

She happily hands it over and, defying the voice in my head saying this is a bad idea, I type in my number and text myself.

“There. Now you have mine too.”

She grins. “Awesome! I gotta go, but I’m really glad I ran into you, Rory.”

“Back at you, Morgan.”

I watch her walk away, almost wondering what the hell just happened. Deciding not to worry about it, I buy my books and head back to my apartment. I’ve been in public, so I feel a little better about letting myself rest for the day. My phone dings in my pocket when I walk into my apartment.

Unknown: I meant it. Don’t ever feel like you’re bugging me if you need someone to talk to. Also, I bought the book you recommended and I’m looking forward to reading it!

Smiling, I save Morgan’s number and let her know I will and that I hope she likes the book. My couch is covered in pillows and blankets, so I make myself comfortable and settle in for the night.

Chapter 12

Kyle

My focus is shot to shit today. I have what feels like a million emails piling up but none of them register in my mind as important. Working as a VP in IT means a constant barrage of requests and information flying at me. I do my best to keep on top of it, but today the only thing that’s top of mind is Rory. There’s a knock on my door and my head jerks up toward the sound. The door is open and I see Graham Hawkins standing there, his hands on his hips and his usual impatient expression present.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Lose track of time?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s time for the department meeting. I was on my way and saw you sitting there zoned out. You’re lucky I got your back, man.”

I roll my eyes. Graham has one of the biggest superiority complexes I’ve ever seen. That and a mile long stick up his ass. I think I’ve seen him try to joke around once and it was terrible. He’s an IT Director, and he seems to think he’s hot shit for it.

“Thanks for the heads up. Let’s go,” I say to him, not acknowledging his comment.

We walk side by side to the conference room and find open seats. The meeting is routine and talks about HR policies, budgets, upcoming projects, the usual topics. I don’t hear a fucking thing, my brain replaying visions of Rory and Wes. After Wes’ bar trip the other day, he told me about the parking lot fun they had, and my mind has been fixated on recreating it. Wondering how soft her skin is. How wet was she underneath Wes’ fingers? Did she make quiet noises or loud ones? Did she beg for more?

The room clears out, and I hear someone clear their throat. For a second time, my thoughts are jerked to a stop, and I snap my eyes up to the sound. I look around realizing that it’s just Graham and I in the room and I really shouldn’t stand up unless I want Graham to think I’m happy to see him.

“You okay, boss?”

“I don’t think I’m actually your boss,” I reply.

“Eh, technically you are. You rank higher than I do, even if I don’t directly report to you.”

I shake my head and roll my eyes a little. “You’re so full of shit.”

He huffs a laugh. “Honestly, though. Are you doing okay? You’ve been super zoned out lately.”

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